Process for the production of fats and unsaturated fatty acids.



" nuTTnn sTaTns TaTnnT oTTTcn CARL PAAL, F ERLANGE'N, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO THE FIRM 015 JOSEPH CROSFIELD & SONS LIMITED, OF BANK QUAY 1, WARRINGTO'N, ENGLAND.

PROCESS FOR THE REDUCTION OF FATS AND UNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS.

No Drawing.

To all whom, itmag concern:

Be it known that I, CARL PAAL, chemist, a subject of the King of Bavaria and the German Emperor, residing at 14 Oestliche Stadtumuer street, Erlangen, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Processes for the Reduction of Fats and Unsaturated .Fatty Acids; and I do hereby declare the upon certain finely divided substances and .aet as" catalyzers or carriers of hydrogen. It has now. been" ascertalned' that the reduction of tlie fats aiid fatty acids may also be effectedf'by hydrogen, in presence of solid sallts' ojf th 'eplatinum metals.

ple salts, such as} palladium protochlorid G' J iifle inwh' platinumchlori'd I chlorid (ILPtQl platinum (sulfate; and the double salts, for 'instance "potassium chloroplatiiiate (K PtQl copper platinoa' chlorid,may be used. IVhen =the double salts'are' used,care must be taken that no anticatalytic substances, such for instance as lead, find their Way into the reduction mixture. Use may be made of salts Whose acid radials or other constituents are themselves reduced by hydrogen, for example acid platinous oxalate. In all cases the method is simple; and it is distinguished from those in which the finely divided metals are used by the omission of the preparation of the finely divided platinum metals or their protohydroxids and of the deposition on special carriers.

The present method is therefore very simple and easy of performance: the salts in a crushed condition, preferably in the state of powder, are mixed With the fats or fatty acids to be hydrogenized; and hydrogen is allowed'to act on this mixture, in suitable vessels and With stirring, at temperatures below 100 preferably under a 4 pressure of several-atmospheres. In a short time the solid reduction product of the fat or fatty acid Will be obtained. All that is necessary to insure the action of the solid Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed November 15, 1911'. Serial No. 660,448.

"Both the'sim-f .l'n'ot'ochlorid ('Pt Ch) (PtClQ), platinuin' hydro magnesium carbonate.

Patented Apr. 16, I912.

salts of the platinum metals is that they must be present in the solid form during the progress of the reaction. 'lhesalts may also be added to the fats in a dissolved condition (for example in aqueous solution), the solvent being evaporated before or at the beginning of the reduction process. A suspension of the solid salts may also be used.

For example, the salts of the platinum metals may be triturated with the fat or oil that is to be reduced, or With another fat or oil, the mixturebeing then mixed with the fats or fatty acids to be 'reducedr Again, for example, a suspension of the salts in hydrocarbons, or mineral oil products, may

be prepared, and this mixture be added to the substances that are to be reduced,inj Which case thesuspensory medium may be eliminated during the process of reduction.

A single salt of a platinum metalmay beused, 'or several salts, and even several plati num-metalsmay be mixed t0g t1 he. salts may also be used in conjimction With the platinum-metalsfvvhich have'been' deposited on carriers," devoid of anticatai lytic actioins'uch" as copper, nickel carbon or during the process,

acid, for example o Pdo1 +H =Pd+HcL i In anyic' ase, however the solid platinuinmetal salts-greatly facilitate the absorption of hydrogen by fats and fatty acids. Very small quantities of the platinum-metal salts are suflicient to reduce large quantities of fat or fatty acids in presence of hydrogen. When the reduction process-is completed, the platinum metals or their compounds can be easily separated from the molten reduced fat or fatty acid by filtration, and used again-either directly or after conversion into the solid state-as catalytic agents for the reduction of fresh quantities of fat or fatty acid.

If it is desired to prevent the formation of free acid, as for example, hydrochloric acid from the chlorids of the platinummetals, in the reducing process, all that is needed is to add to the powdered platinummetal salts a neutralizing agent, such as anhydrous soda, in sufficient quantity to comblne with the of salts of the platinum metals assists the It is probable that, i the salts of the" platihum-metals are split up into metal and free liberated acid. The addition Y reduction process considerably more than is done by palladium black or platinum black containing an amount of platinum-metal equal to that in the platinum-metal salts added in'the present method. Thus, for example, 1.7 parts of PdCl l part of Pd) in presence of hydrogen will convert 10,000 parts of fat or fatty acid into solid masses within 3 to 4 hours. If, however, the PdCl be replaced by a quantity of palladium black containing the same amount of palladium, then, with a ratio of 1 part of Pd to 10,000 parts of fat or fatty acid, these substances will remain liquid, even when the palladium and hydrogen are allowed to act for twice or three times as long as in the experiment with PdCI Under these experimental conditions no appreciable action takes place when an attempt is made to replace the palladium salt by palladium black.

In the present method, the time required for the reduction depends on the amount of the platinum-metal salt used, and on the pressure under which the hydrogen is allowed to act. By using a palladium salt as the hydrogen carrier, about 50,000 parts of fat or unsaturated fatty acid can be hydrogenized within from 6 to 8 hours with a quantity of salt, for example, PdCl corresponding with 1 part of Pd.

Example: One million parts by weight of castor oil or oleic acid are treated with thirty-four parts by weight of dry palladium protochlorid (:20 parts of Pd) inthe form of powder, with or without the equivalent amount of anhydrous soda; or with 140 parts by weight of dry platinum protochlorid (=l00 parts' of Pt) in the form of powder; or 172=-parts of platinum chlorid; or 230- parts of platinum hydrochlorid, all with or without addition of equivalent amount of anhydrous soda. The mixture isplaced in a pressure vessel, from which the air is exhausted as completely as possible, and hydrogen is then admitted into the vessel under a pressure of 2 to 3 atmospheres. The reduction mixture is preferably kept in motion, which can be efiected by means of a stirring apparatus arranged in the pressure vessel. The vessel is heated to about 80 C. although the reduction may also be carried out at a lower temperature. The progress of the reduction that is to say the consumption of hydrogen, is revealed by the fall in pressure as indicated by the pressure gage. When the gage registers only a low pressure, a fresh quantity of hydrogen is admitted. The co-mpletion of thereduction process can be recognized by the gas pressure remaining constant for some considerable time. When the reduction is ended, the reduction produce is freed from the catalyzer in a filter press which is adapted to be heated.

I claim: e

1. A method for the reduction of fats and unsaturated fatty acids which consists incausing hydrogen to act on these substances at temperatures below 100 degrees centigrade, in presence of small solid quantities of salts of the platinum metals.

2. A method for the reduction of fats and unsaturated fatty acids which consists in causing hydrogen to act on these substances at temperatures below 100 degrees cent-igrade, in presence of small solid quantities of salts of the platinum metals and solid neutralizing agents.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CARL rAAL.

Witnesses:

MAX Busm, HERMANN APrrzscH. 

